


Door

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Dialogue, Drama, F/M, Light Angst, Prison, hints of romance, sombre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-18 21:05:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11298825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: A mysterious lady in blue visits one of the prisoners who is about to be executed.





	Door

**Author's Note:**

> Very vaguely inspired by the Italian tv series 'La dama velata' (literally it means 'the veiled lady'), but only because the main character wears a dark blue dress in one scene and I couldn't help thinking of Arturia.  
> There is no continuation planned for this one-shot, as it's a standalone piece merely supposed to give a glimpse into an unusual situation.
> 
> Title: from a Kalafina song, part of their album 'Consolation' ;)

…

...

...

 

The jailer eyed the mysterious woman with distrust. She was dressed in a dark blue gown, and she had a thick dark veil completely covering her face. But when she removed it briefly to reveal her features and he recognized her, he trembled and was quick to admit her access.

She took no notice of the unkemptness of the place and just went straight to the prisoner’s cell, closing the bars behind her after making sure the jailer didn’t follow her.

Turning around, she stared at him in complete silence as he simply stared back at her face, hidden by the veil. Even though the many days spent in such a dark place had left visible signs on his body, he did not allow that to prevent him from giving her his usual smirk.

There was no need for her to take off the veil to make sure he recognized her – he would have known her among thousands.

“What brings you to this filthy place, my dearest?”

She didn’t sit down in the narrow cell, but remained standing silently for a second before replying curtly, “You.”

He laughed, no mirth in the sound.

“What business might you have with me?”

Again she was silent for a moment, before unemotionally saying, “The knowledge that you hold some regard for me.”

He inclined his head to the side a little, looking amused.

“Such pointless formalities, my dear. I don’t hold you in any kind of ‘regard’ – I fell in love with you, simple as that.” He leaned back in his chair, seeming rather unconcerned about her sudden stiffening.

This time, however, she seemed to gather herself more quickly.

“If what you just said is not an invention of yours, then tell me the truth about what you are accused of.”

He seemed to consider, and then requested, “Let me see your face, my love.”

She hesitated, but he did not give her the time to make a decision, because he stood up and came closer to her.

“You’ve come all the way from your unapproachable castle to this despicable place just to see me – you will not deny me the possibility to see _you_ as well.”

He didn’t however try to remove her veil for her, and after another moment she slowly brought her hands up to lift the dark cover from her face. His crimson eyes were watching her intently, waiting to meet her green ones, and to her slight surprise, they seemed to soften when their gaze finally met.

“You didn’t cry on me,” he stated.

Her eyes were indeed dry, not reddened in the least and although there were a few signs of fatigue on her face, she had clearly not been crying about his predicament.

The stare she gave him was hard.

“I wouldn’t waste my tears on someone I don’t know can be trusted. And tears don’t help. They never do.”

He inclined his head to the side, something slightly contemptuous appearing in his eyes as he commented, “How philosophical.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Says the man closed in a prison cell and sentenced to death, alone and abandoned by everyone.”

His eyes hardened suddenly.

“I will stand for disdain, but I will not have your pity, Arturia.”

“You don’t get to decide on what I give you,” she remarked unflinchingly.

And to his complete astonishment, she took a sudden step closer, stood on her tiptoes and firmly pressed her lips to his in an unexpected kiss.

She didn’t however give him the time to recover from the surprise, distancing herself from him a moment later, pulling the veil back over her face and manoeuvring them so that they were separated by the small table on which he was served his meagre meals.

With sudden violence, she slammed her hands on the surface that was now between them, and he was surprised again to realize that _anger_ was what was making her form shake.

“Are you, or are you not, guilty of the murder they are accusing you of? In the name of the love you so casually declare to have bestowed upon me, _tell me the truth_!”

He remained completely still for a moment, and then he swiftly walked around the table to come in front of her once more.

“What does it matter, at this point? These mongrels have already delivered the sentence. But most importantly – why do you care? You barely know me. You shouldn’t concern yourself.”

He could feel her stare even through the thick veil that hid her face from him.

“I want to know the truth,” she said, her voice firm and unwavering. “If you committed that murder, then you deserve this sentence, and I will not lift a finger for you. But if you’re innocent – then you don’t belong here, and you deserve to have someone stand up for you. If you’re innocent, I will prove it and bring you out.”

He laughed in true mirth now.

“What are you saying? You have no idea, you naïve little one–”

“I did not ask for your opinion on the matter,” her icy tone in interrupting him took him aback. “I’m doing this for selfish reasons, and I don’t care what you think of me because of it. Now tell me, once and for all: _did you_ or _did you not_ commit the murder?”

He stared at her, long and hard, as she lifted the veil once again to examine his eyes closely. Several silent minutes passed, as he seemed to ponder over her words and slowly made his decision.

After taking all the time he wanted to deliberate, he finally said, no deceit in his tone, “I didn’t shoot, and I wasn’t the one who killed.”

She exhaled and her eyes flickered for a moment. She hid it well, but for him it was easy to see that it was as if a huge weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.

He averted his eyes. He shouldn’t have been observing her so closely; it was going to make her absence harder to bear once she left.

And oh, how he despised the fact that even though he knew that time was running out, her visit was still something he couldn’t bring himself to condemn.

“I’m forced to admit that I’m glad you came, Arturia.”

He was smirking strangely, still not looking at her. “It’s always lovely to see you, but kissing you… that is an experience I considered impossible to have in this lifetime.”

He insisted on keeping his eyes away from her, even as his voice became bitter. “How ironic that it should become possible right before my life reaches its end.”

She had already stood up before he could say anything else, grasping her veil as if she wanted to put it over her face, but then reconsidered. A few blonde locks had escaped her tight chignon, and were now framing her face.

“I will get you out of here, Gilgamesh.” She stared at him with fire in her eyes. “You may not care about your execution, but I do.”

He leaned forward, taking those few strands of her hair between his fingers.

“Little Arturia,” he commented. “Always fighting for what is right. Although you don’t return my feelings, now that you know that I’m innocent you decided to fight for my sake.”

He released her locks, leaning back again. “Do you even realize how fascinating of a person you are?”

Brusquely, she lowered the veil over her face, hiding herself from him once again.

“I will get you out of here,” she repeated, resolutely.

His lips gradually stretched into a slow smile.

“Not even you have the power to change destinies, my sweetest. As amusing as it is to see you fight, when the battle itself is ridiculous it doesn’t bring anyone any joy.”

He stretched with leisure, as if he was on a comfortable couch in a castle instead of on a hard bench in a prison cell, and looked away, studying the wall with interest. “The only thing that makes me despise death is that it will make me lose you.”

He had not expected her to take a few abrupt steps forward and push her veil to the side – again – to meet his eyes, her green ones shining in complete determination only an inch away from his.

“You will not die,” she calmly stated, with all the certainty of a person who knew exactly what she was saying – and doing. “And you will not lose me either.”

Her veil hiding her face again, the next second the bars slammed loudly as she exited the prison cell and disappeared.

...

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End file.
